Thursday, May 28, 2009

If you are considering a professional gallery. There are lots of things to consider. It is not only important to have a snazzy gallery, but it should be easy and quick for potential buyers to navigate through your pictures quickly. In a study performed by PhotoShelter, they surveyed buyers of photographs and found some surprising results. Take the quiz found on the PhotoShelter site and you will be in for an education. For a longer view of the survey and more detailed interpretation here is an hour long video of what photo buyers want. After viewing I decided this is what I needed.

Kudos has to go to PhotoShelter for their savvy questions and their interpretation of the results. And, their implementation of the results on their website. Unfortunately, the cost for a pro account at PhotoShelter is nearly 50 dollars a month. And, there are limits to the amount of storage.

Now, at this point the cost factor enters in. And, you have to decide if you want to pay the piper or try another way. I first had someone design a site for me, and they did a good job. But the needed elements were just to difficult to implement even for a seasoned web designer. In order to be competitive I had to find another solution. And I did, I am wowed by SmugMug.

SmugMug will *never* surround our clients' photos with Ads or Pop-ups. We also don't require your visitors to enter an email to view photos.

SmugMug has 3 different service levels to meet every type of photographer from soccer mom to fine art photographer.

SmugMug answers Help emails within minutes and not days like everyone else.

Now, that is just the beginning of their excellent service. And here are ten reasons for a photographer to have a SmugMug Account.

1. Their motto: "Your Photos Look Better Here," and they really do. You can find my gallery here for a look see. And the cost is a darn lot cheaper than PhotoShelter. I have a pro account and the flexibility of the site and themes are just superb. Everything is easy to customize even if you do not have a great deal of knowledge of CSS. The site is easy to navigate and the customer is in charge of how he wants to view your site.

2. Image protection: With a pro account you can disable right click copying and place watermarks on your photos like the image above. On each page you have a buy this photo with tons of options. Clients can buy prints (many sizes and paper styles), merchandise, and downloads with a simple click. You set the price and determine your own profits.

3. Printing: SmugMug gives the photographer a choice of two excellent printers. If you read through their help indexes you will find the meticulous effort they used to pick who prints the photographs. I am pleased by the printer I have chosen who has human quality control rather than just software output. SmugMug is about quality, and you can see that in every step of their efforts. Choosing SmugMug is like buying the best Swiss time piece.

4. Support: I can safely say their support is the best. I have used it once and had a human answer me within minutes. When they say, talk to real person they mean it. And, if you are a person that likes to fend for themselves their help menus are filled with easy to follow tutorials.

5. Easy Customization: I have been able to make the customizations that I considered essential through their easy customization tool. It is a breeze to use and very easy to understand. You will have your site running the way you like it quickly and efficiently.

6. Client Confidence: Using SmugMug you will instill confidence in your clients. Not only will your photos be elegantly displayed the service they receive is superb. Clients will be impressed by the attention to minute detail in every aspect of their experience on the site. As a professional photographer, you want the service to be professional. And SmugMug delivers.

7. Site Compatibility: Uploading pictures is a breeze, the interface works great. One thing I particular like if you have your photos on another site like Flickr as I do, you can use an available Firefox extension to upload directly from the site. This is quick and easy and saves tons of time. The extensions are available directly from the upload menu.

8. Unlimited Storage: SmugMug offers you unlimited storage and use of your photos. A person like me who has over 2,000 of processed photos this is a godsend.

9. Competitive Cost: SmugMug offers three levels of membership. I have chosen the most expensive option which is $149.50 a year. This is by far one of the best deals on the internet for what you get. Compared to PhotoShelter which is also a great site your cost would run $600 dollars per year. My choice SmugMug has not been a disappointment. Here is a SmugMug coupon that will save you five dollars. 2PY6wBMmDLK56

10. You Get What You Need: I started this post with the PhotoShelter appraisal of what photo clients want. Each item in their appraisal is covered by SmugMug. And, I must say elegantly and with a professional style.

Robert Miller Photography

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Robert Miller Photography at SmugMug

Photographs on this site are mine unless noted as otherwise. All photos are fully protected by copyright laws. If you see a photograph you would like for your home, office, advertisement or publication. You can Email me here, or go to my gallery by clicking the above picture.